Video showed that Malkin and Dahlin made contact at the side of the Buffalo net. Dahlin cross-checked Malkin, for which he was penalized, and Malkin responded by raising his stick and striking Dahlin on his helmet and shoulder.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety noted that Malkin was not off-balance and the contact was not accidental.
The 39-year-old Malkin has been fined five times and suspended twice previously in his NHL career, one game for high-sticking Philadelphia’s Michael Raffl in February 2019 and four games in April 2022 for cross-checking Nashville’s Mark Borowiecki.
Malkin has 13 goals and 47 points in 46 games this season and 527 goals and 1,393 points in a 20-year NHL career, all in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins are already without captain Sidney Crosby for a minimum of four weeks because of a lower-body injury as the team, currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division, battles for playoff position.
Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Malkin will forfeit $158,854.15. That money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
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